Sonification
I love sonification. I know it’s a bit geeky, but professionally, there are few things that me happier than finding the perfect bit of audio to include in a description. When an idea, or image, or data set is translated into sound - whether formally or informally - it can really enhance understanding and appreciation for those who are blind or low vision. I have used cartoon boings to sonify eyebrow shrugs, drum beats to sonify intensified continuity in filmmaking, and today, a squeeze box to sonify Donald Trump’s gestures.
Ok, to be fair, I didn’t come up with that last one. But I was happy to pounce on it when describing Donald Trump for our Talk Description to Me podcast. One of Trump’s most common gestures is an in-and-out action with his hands. He holds out both hands, palms facing one another, and moves them closer together and further apart - in-and-out, in-and-out - as if describing the sizes of fish he caught last weekend.
A YouTuber named Huw Parkinson has put together a series of videos called "Life Accordion to Trump" in which small accordions and squeeze boxes have been digitally inserted into Donald Trump’s hands, and appropriate musical effects have been synched with his actions. So when Trump moves his hands in-and-out he looks and sounds like he’s playing the accordion. It’s one of the most brilliant bits of sonification I’ve ever come across! Check it out!
I mentioned a few other bits of media in that episode, as well. Here’s the 2017 Guardian article "The Seven faces of Donald Trump - a psychologist’s view", and here’s the recent article from Vanity Fair on Joe Biden’s beloved aviator sunglasses.
Enjoy!
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